WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A computer used by Paula Broadwell, the woman whose affair with CIA Director David Petraeus led to his resignation, contained substantial classified information that should have been stored under more secure conditions, law enforcement and national security officials said yesterday.
The contents and amount of the classified material – and questions about how Broadwell got it – are significant enough to warrant a continuing investigation, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to comment publicly.
The details about material held by Broadwell, a reserve officer in military intelligence, emerged yesterday as the Pentagon suspended her security clearance. There are growing concerns among military and law enforcement officials about the potential fallout from the affair between Petraeus and Broadwell, who co-authored a biography of the retired general.
Late yesterday, the House intelligence committee announced that Petraeus would testify tomorrow behind closed doors about the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees were briefed yesterday on the Petraeus matter by leaders of the FBI and CIA.
During a news conference at the White House yesterday, President Barack Obama said there was no indication so far that any classified information had been disclosed as a result of the affair.
Obama also said that for now, he would refrain from judging whether he should have been told earlier than last Wednesday about the probe involving his CIA chief, who resigned on Friday before the affair became public.
“I am withholding judgment with respect to how the entire process surrounding General Petraeus came up. We don’t have all the information yet,” Obama told a White House news conference.
The president noted that had he known earlier, he might have been open to accusations of interference in a politically sensitive law enforcement matter.
Broadwell’s security clearances gave her access to certain classified material, several officials said. Government rules require such material to be stored in secure locations or computers.
Two officials familiar with the case said investigators are asking whether Broadwell followed government rules for handling classified information.
